After a two year absence following the undoubted success they had back in 2011, Knebworth’s Sonisphere Festival has finally returned, once again hosting a stellar line-up across its three days, including metal giants Iron Maiden and Metallica, and dance/rock hybrid pioneers The Prodigy. We made sure we were a part of it, so we headed down to see if Sonisphere is truly back for good.

Finally returning to Knebworth after a two year hiatus, the UK’s Sonisphere Festival have now confirmed another batch of acts for this year’s line-up, with new additions including Slayer, Ghost and Airbourne among others. All currently confirmed acts on the festival bill are detailed below:

With their UK headline tour kicking off in just over a week, Karnivool have just confirmed that both their Bristol and Nottingham shows have sold out and, as a result, been bumped up to bigger venues (original tickets remain valid). You can view all dates of the tour below:

Welcome to part nine in a series of features previewing this year’s Download Festival. Each week, we shall be looking at a particular genre or scene that will be represented at the festival. You may have heard some of the more established bands, but these previews may introduce you to similar bands that are in the same vain.

In part nine, we’ll be previewing bands that play music off the trodden path.

Download Festival, Britain’s premier hard rock and metal festival, has announced a monolithic new wave of bands for the 3 day bash, including Architects, The Ghost Inside and Bury Tomorrow. The full list of the 49 freshly announced bands along with the updated poster can be seen below:

Reggae metallers Skindred have not really been anywhere near ‘huge’ on the alternative music scene, though they’ve always had a presence strong enough to be recognised when mentioned. With a tour of many sold out dates across the UK, maybe even further recognition and acknowledgement is heading their way fast. Deserved considering the trouble the band have faced in the past with labels and such.